Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

I stayed employed in a serious recession, which among other things allowed us to continue to save for retirement.

I continued work on our retirement/vacation home: Had a well put in, roughed in plumbing (supply and soil), installed an electric hot water heater, rebuilt an old Vermont Castings woodstove, roughed in all the electrics upstairs and some downstairs, completed about 3/4 of the bathroom (insulation, sheetrock, tile, fixtures)

Eat out a lot? I thought I took the garbage out infrequently at approx. 36 times per year(11 gal. size bags).

Not really.

My tricks include:

1. Large trash can (75 gal?) that I only set out when full
2. Recycle everything I can
3. Buy very little trash-producing stuff

2Cor521

__________________
"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place, but believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. All you have to do is look hard enough, and what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact be the first steps of a journey." Violet Baudelaire.

Stayed employed, maxed out a 401K and two Roth IRAs, got a year closer to being able to "clock out" for the last time.

__________________"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?"-- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)

1)Didn't get banned by this forum
2)Only got 3 infractions this year
3)Posted here too much

__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)

Maintained my weight +-5 lbs.
Revived an interest in photography and took some classes on that subject.
Became somewhat proficient at motorcycle riding without injury.
Kept DW happy. She still thinks marrying me was a good decision.

Lost 12 pounds
Walked Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park
Walked the wild flower fields of Rainier National Park
Travelled to Israel and Jordan
Upgraded the kitchen (countertop and appliances)
Didn't use an alarm clock, but discovered the dog has her own alarm system which generally meshes with mine (except for the early to bed alarm)
Goofed Off
Did Nothing
Loved it!

In 2010 I increased the balance of my little IRA play money account from $11,000 to $51,000 mostly by swing trading a mix of large caps (no, not netflix, apple or google). My wife is bugging me about it now though and crimping my trading style because she thinks it is no longer play money. She was fine to let me play 8 years ago when I rolled over my past employer 401K balance ($1700) into this IRA so I don't know why she gives me grief now

Latest Threads

Social Knowledge Community

About Us

This community was started in 2002 as an alternative to a then fee only Motley Fool. The focus of the discussions is on topics related to early retirement and financial independence. The community is moderated to ensure a pleasant experience for our members.